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September 2, 2011

Going Dark To Find The Light: On Hiatus

After I publish this post (and then facebook and tweet it of course) I am taking a hiatus from social media until Monday morning. Like completely (and cold turkey I might add.)

As part of myLife Is A Special Occasion series with Hallmark, I'm attempting this little experiment for several reasons- most of which I'll explain when I post on Monday- and I hope to have some hearty reflections on being inspired to take an uninterrupted not-shared-with-everyone breath more often and enjoy the any day moments.

What I won't be quitting:Email, Google Reader, and writing in a journal (because honestly I am hoping without the distraction of the above I'll actually pay attention to these things for once.)

Not intending to start a movement or anything like that, but I do hope to inspire you to consider what your biggest moment-stealer is right now- Twitter? Reality TV? Mindless Internet surfing? Netflix? Words With Friends? - and do something about it. Maybe not for three days but what about one day? Or an entire afternoon? Because honestly just when I was beginning to write this piece I wasted about 35 minutes going back and forth on Twitter and Facebook just checking it and not even posting anything or engaging with anyone. That is embarrassing.

Yes, I do have to be online and "social media savvy" for my job, but also, I have a feeling I'll find that what's it's all about is totally quality over quantity. Aside from all of that my mind is in desperate want for a slow down. I need this. I'm excited for the light I might find when these other things go dark for a little while.

What shape does it take for you? And if you aren't comfortable openly sharing, feel free to email me or comment anonymously. I'd love it if we could hold hands together on this one.

See you Monday.

Hallmarkis compensating me for participating in the Life Is A Special Occasion campaign, but encouraged me to write about anything I wanted in the theme of inspiration. It would be awesome if you'd sign up for their promotional emails (you might even see me in there!) by following this link. I am partnering with Hallmark to spotlight Life Is A Special Occasion for the rest of this year. As always, all content and opinions expressed are my own.

i deactivated my facebook account for about a month this summer. i didn't want to be so distracted by stuff that wasn't important. i was really feeling the loss of time with my son starting K4 and my going back to school and working PT. it was great, i got so much accomplished and i felt like i *knew* myself better.

I have found that Twitter is a big time suck for me. Sure I miss it, but I love it all that much more when I carve a bit of time out for it. But most importantly, I don't miss these last few years with my girls at home. The computer and twitter will be there, someday they won't.

Mine's cleaning/housework/cooking (it used to be social media, but I saw what it was doing to me and the family and severely limited my time there). Oh, how I WISH I could take a hiatus from housewifery! A nice LOOOONG one. :) Enjoy!

Well, I guess I don't know when you'll read this, so it feels funny to answer.

With the start of school and sports, I have no choice but to be away from the computer and phone more. I am finding that I am not missing it as much as I thought I would. I enjoy talking to the other parents at sports practices. I like hearing about my kids' day while we do homework. We're in a bit of a routine and that is good and I don't want to mess it up with too much computer time.

And honestly, weekends I rarely get online for more than 30 minutes unless I'm looking for something.

I've been thinking about this for months. I was waiting until my half marathon is over (Sept 25) before I take a hiatus. I don't blog or tweet, but do spend way too much time online (facebook, message boards, reading blogs, pinterest). There's so much I want (need) to do with my time this fall. In order to be productive and savor these fleeting moments in my kids' lives, I need to reevaluate my time management. Sorry to write a book...but you've inspired me. Now if I can just stick to it!

i'm so proud of you and i do hope that you write in your journal. much of my life feels so very personal right now that that is what i find myself doing and i'm thankful to have it. i've also decided that rather than just my normal no media time from 3-7, im going to try a brief time mid-morning then not back until 7pm. looking forward to it despite knowing i'll probably miss some stuff and it might be hard at first.

You'll love this, Steph. I've been doing it for months--unintentionally at first, heh. And now I just keep doing it because I know it's right for me. I hardly notice my computer or phone on the weekends and when I do, it's definitely quality over quantity...like right now, when I'm visiting YOU. xoxo

Oh, you know I'm on this. I don't use a cell phone but for emergencies and that's only if I remember to bring it. I plan on crocheting this weekend. For some reason, I learned it and I am OBSESSED. So social media and family be damned, I will be making a lumpy scarf all weekend!

I shut off my FB account a year ago. I miss it sometimes, and do feel a bit out of the loop at times( like I have no idea if my friend has had her baby or not : ) but it was a huge time sucker for me...so it had to go.

I have serious issues with the computer. It's not so much the amount of time I spend, but the compulsion I have to constantly be checking my e-mails and Blogs. It's what I do to detach and decompress. Which isn't totally bad in and of itself, but I don't like the way if makes me feels, and I want enjoying my kids to be my priority not trying to seek away every second I get.

My hubby and I are praying about getting rid of the internet altogether, and just going to the library with our lap top to check e-mail and use the internet when necessary. I know that's pretty drastic, and not doable for many, but I think I'm ready for this kind of change.

While my hubby is on a business trip this week, I am completely unplugging. Like he's taking my laptop with him, and password protecting our home computer. I want to take the week to REALLY enjoy my kids. To be present. And truly enjoy being their mama!

Can I tell you a secret? I'm just now catching up on blogs because all weekend I was trying to just stay busy so my nerves would stay calm because G is coming home today! So I'm sitting here, staring at the clock, checking blogs and hoping beyond hope that this day speeds up a bit until he's here and then comes to a grinding halt.

Sometimes you need to just step away and really see what is going on around you. I have days where I wonder what I did before having constant access to the internet. I hope that your weekend hiatus brought you some clarity!

we go back and forth with this in our house. we already have a plan, once we move, that our new place will not be all about tv and movies and computer time. we will spend time with paint and written words and music and food. simpler. i'm looking forward to it.